Undergarment

ABSTRACT

A combination undergarment for women is comprised of a unitary body portion including an upper slip portion and a lower panty portion. Shoulder straps are connected to the back of the top of the upper slip portion by elastic connectors. The lower panty portion is provided with the bottom edges on either side portion thereof curved to conform to the general configuration of a woman&#39;&#39;s thigh. The lower panty portion is provided with a front flap and back closure flap intermediate the bottom edges on the side portions thereof. The side edges of the closure flap have a curvature which is a continuation of the curvature of the bottom edges. Elastic bands are provided on the bottom edges and the side edges of the back closure flap on either side portion of the lower panty portion. Fastener means are provided for fastening the end of the closure flap to the end of the front flap.

Zero

[ 1 Oct. 21, 1975 UNDERGARMENT [76] Inventor: Itabe I. Zero, 10055 Newville Ave.,

Downey, Calif. 90240 [22] Filed: June 17, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 480,012

[52] US. Cl. 2/78 B; 2/109 [51] Int. CL? A41B 9/08 [58] Field of Search 2/78 B, 78 R, 78 A, 78 C,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,656,304 1/1928 Tetreau 2/109 X 2,339,341 1/1944 Landau 2/78 R 2,437,989 3/1948 Artzt et al.... 2/78 A 2,682,662 7/1954 Bonnett 128/526 X 2,805,422 9/1957 Rickert 2/73 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 253,054 6/1926 United Kingdom 2/78 B Primary ExaminerH. Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John T. Matlago [57] ABSTRACT A combination undergarment for women is comprised of a unitary body portion including an upper slip portion and a lower panty portion. Shoulder straps are connected to the back of the top of the upper slip portion by elastic connectors. The lower panty portion is provided with the bottom edges on either side portion thereof curved to conform to the general configuration of a womans thigh. The lower panty portion is provided with a front flap and back closure flap intermediate the bottom edges on the side portions thereof The side edges of the closure flap have a curvature which is a continuation of the curvature of the bottom edges. Elastic bands are provided on the bottom edges and the side edges of the back closure flap on either side portion of the lower panty portion. Fastener means are provided for fastening the end of the closure flap to the end of the front flap.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 3,913,146

I I I l I I UNDERGARMENT The present invention relates to a combination undergarment for women, and, more particularly, to such an undergarment which may be referred to as a combination slip and panty.

The trend of fashion for womens clothing is for them to wear trousers or slacks. Such clothing presents difficulties with the undergarments women usually wear inasmuch as the conventional slips cannot be conveniently worn with slacks since the bottom portion of the slip can not hang freely and instead gathers up and causes bulges which are unsightly. Thus, many women have been eliminating the slip and only wearing panties and brassieres as undergarments with slacks. The difficulty of this wear is that a woman hesitates to wear a sheer blouse with slacks since the bare midriff tends to show through the blouse.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a combination undergarment for women that is especially constructed and adapted to be worn with trousers or slacks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination undergarment for women comprised of an upper slip portion and a lower panty portion which can be conveniently worn under trousers or slacks without the disadvantage of unsightly bulges.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved unitary garment for women including an upper slip portion and a lower panty portion, the latter including a stretchable closure flap extending from the back thereof, and being adapted to pass through the wearers crotch for detachable connection to the front thereof.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an undergarment of the character described whose construction allows for stretching of both the shoulder straps and the closure flap on the panty so as to avoid binding or pulling at the shoulder and crotch.

With these and related objects in view this invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an undergarment embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the panty portion of the undergarment in FIG. 1 with the back closure flap attached to the front flap thereof;

FIG. 3 is a back elevational view, with the midriff cut away, of the undergarment shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 shows the shape of the panels and parts for one side of the back and front sections of the undergarment.

Referring to the drawings, the undergarment of the present invention consists of an upper portion 11 which functions as a slip and a lower portion 12 which functions as a panty. The portions 11 and 12 integrally merge at the midriff to form a single unitary undergarment. The upper end of the slip portion is formed of decorative lace 13 having areas 14 of sheer cloth, as provided for on conventional slips. The upper portion has shoulder straps 17a and 17b secured thereto. Elastic connectors 18a and 18b, shown in FIG. 3, secure the back ends of the respective shoulder straps 17a and 17b to the back top edge of the upper portion. The lengths of the shoulder straps 17a and 17b may be varied to suit the stature of the wearer of the undergarment by use of adjustable buckles 20a and 20b.

The panty portion 12 being continuously and integrally connected through the midriff section to the slip portion 11 comprises right and left bottom edges 22a and 22b, respectively, which are curved to fit the thighs of the wearer with the inwardly converging front side bottom edges terminating to form the sides of an integral, short, depending front flap 24 and the inwardly converging back side bottom edges terminating at the opposite ends of a curved bottom edge having a seam line 25. A separate long back closure flap 27 is secured by sewing the upper edge thereof to the curved bottom edge along their seam lines 25. The closure flap 27 is thus located to depend from the back of the panty portion 12 slightly curved to form continuations of the respective converging bottom edges 22a and 22b. The front flap 24 is provided on its outer surface adjacent its free edge with three snap fasteners 31. The closure flap 27 is provided on its inner surface adjacent its free edge with three complementary cooperating fastener elements 33. As indicated in FIG. 2, the closure flap 27 extending from the back bottom of the panty portion 12 is adapted to pass through the wearers crotch for detachable connection to the front flap 24. I

The back side of the unitary undergarment is comprised of a left back panel 34a, shaped as shown in FIG. 4, and a right back panel 34b (FIG. 3) which is a mirror image of panel 34b. The left and right back panels are sewn together along their seam lines 35. The back side also includes closure flap 27 which is attached thereto by being sewn along their seam lines 25.

The front side of the unitary undergarment is comprised of a front section comprising panels 38a and 39a, shaped as shown in FIG. 4, and a left front section, comprised of panels 38b and 39, which is a mirror image of the right front section. The sides of the panels 38a and 39a are sewn together along their seam lines 40a to draw in the waist and midriff portions of the undergarment. The left and right front sections are secured together by sewing along their center seam lines 43. The front and rear sides of the undergarment are sewn together along their seam lines 42a and 42b which extend lengthwise of the undergarment.

The bottom edges 22a of the panels shown in FIG. 4, together with the side edge 29a of the closure flap 27, when folded back and sewn provide a continuous channel for the elastic band 44a. The bottom edges 22b and 29b forming the other side of the undergarment are similarly provided with an elastic band 44b. The portions of elastic bands 44a and 44b passing through the portions of the continuous channels formed by the bottom edges 22a and 22b, respectively, enable the bottom edges to be evenly gathered so as to provide for effective radial contraction of the: same about the thighs of the wearer. The portions of the elastic bands 44a and 44b passing through portions of the channels formed on sides 29a and 29b, respectively, of the flap 27 enables the flap to be evenly gathered so that the flap is stretchable along its length.

It should be noted that the elastic connectors 18a and 18b on the back ends of the respective shoulder straps 17a and 17b and the portions of the elastic bands 44a and 44b on the respective sides 29a and 29b of the closure flap 27 both serve to avoid binding or pulling at the shoulder or crotch as the wearer moves about or changes from a standing to a sitting position. Such a construction also avoids undue looseness of the undergarment on the wearer.

Preferably when the combination undergarment of the present invention is to be worn it is pulled on over the wearers head, shoulders and trunk. The closure flap 27 is then extended forwardly through the crotch and up for attachment of its end by the snap fasteners 33 to the complementary fastener elements 31 on the lower end of the front flap 24.

It should be understood that the portions of the panels and parts forming the upper or slip portion 11 of the undergarment are cut and constructed to have a relatively loose fit on the body of the wearer in the manner of the upper portion of a conventional slip. On the other hand, the portions of the panels and parts forming the lower or panty portion 12 of the undergarment are cut and constructed to be fit relatively closely to the wearers body especially around the thighs so that no unsightly bulges take place when the undergarment is worn under trousers or slacks. Furthermore, the back closure flap 27 is constructed so that when it is closed over the crotch it provides an undergarment which fits as well as a pair of ordinary panties. The undergarment is preferably formed of nylon or a similar material.

It should be clear that the disadvantages of the conventional slip when worn with trousers or slacks is overcome by the undergarment of the present invention.

While a single and preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, no limitation is necessarily made to precise structural details as it is to be understood that variations and modifications which properly fall within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to when found expedient.

What is claimed is:

l. A womens combination undergarment comprismg:

a unitary body portion including an upper slip portion and a lower panty portion,

adjustable shoulder straps having elastic connector elements for connecting the ends of said shoulder straps to the back of said slip portion,

said panty portion having curved bottom edges on either front side thereof that converge inwardly to form curved side edges of a short depending front flap having right angular corners on its free end to provide a straight-edged tab portion thereon, and said panty portion having curved bottom edges on either rear side thereof that converge inwardly to form curved side edges of a long depending rear closure flap having right angular corners on its free end to provide a straight-edged tab portion thereon,

an elastic band provided along the curved bottom edges including the curved side edges of the front flap and rear closure flap on either side of said panty portion, and

fastener elements on the straight-edged tab portions of the front flap and rear closure flap,

whereby the rear closure flap is stretchable along its length when the tab portion thereof is extended forwardly beneath the wearers crotch for fastening by said fastener elements to the tab portion of the front flap while the curved bottom edges including the curved side edges of the frontflap and rear closure flap on either side portion of the panty portion is enabled to uniformly yieldingly encircle the thighs of the wearer.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein each front side of said unitary body portion is formed of at least two lengths of panels extending from the bottom of the panty portion to the upper part of the slip portion, and

the sides of said panels are shaped so that when adjacent panels are sewn together they provide for the panty portion closely fitting the body of the wearer and for the slip portion more loosely fitting the body of the wearer. 

1. A women''s combination undergarment comprising: a unitary body portion including an upper slip portion and a lower panty portion, adjustable shoulder straps having elastic connector elements for connecting the ends of said shoulder straps to the back of said slip portion, said panty portion having curved bottom edges on either front side thereof that converge inwardly to form curved side edges of a short depending front flap having right angular corners on its free end to provide a straight-edged tab portion thereon, and said panty portion having curved bottom edges on either rear side thereof that converge inwardly to form curved side edges of a long depending rear closure flap having right angular corners on its free end to provide a straight-edged tab portion thereon, an elastic band provided along the curved bottom edges including the curved side edges of the front flap and rear closure flap on either side of said panty portion, and fastener elements on the straight-edged tab portions of the front flap and rear closure flap, whereby the rear closure flap is stretchable along its length when the tab portion thereof is extended forwardly beneath the wearer''s crotch for fastening by said fastener elements to the tab portion of the front flap while the curved bottom edges including the curved side edges of the front flap and rear closure flap on either side portion of the panty portion is enabled to uniformly yieldingly encircle the thighs of the wearer.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein each front side of said unitary body portion is formed of at least two lengths of panels extending from the bottom of the panty portion to the uPper part of the slip portion, and the sides of said panels are shaped so that when adjacent panels are sewn together they provide for the panty portion closely fitting the body of the wearer and for the slip portion more loosely fitting the body of the wearer. 